Happy International Prank Day, Love Prim and Rory
by C.K.isback
Summary: Prim and Rory announce that it is International Prank Day. Their targets? Katniss and Gale, of course. Two-shot, pre-HG, don't own!
1. That Stupid Katiss Girl

**Hope you enjoy! Again, this is a two-shot, so expect the next part to be up before next Wednesday (It has to be, because after that I'm leaving for HARRY POTTER WORLD! (A.K.A Universal Studios...hehe)**

*"Come on Gale, hang out with me."

He is crouched over a long rope of knots, so long that it pools on the floor in coils, like a snake waiting to strike Gale if he doesn't talk to me. My lips curve into a small smile.

Gale puts down his knots and stands up, chair scraping across the dusty wooden floor of our kitchen. He sighs, looking annoyed. "I told you Rory, I can't. I'm too busy."

It's Sunday. Gale should be anything but busy. "Are you going to go off into the woods with that Katiss girl again?" I ask. That's all he'd been doing for the past year and a half. Going off into the forest doing God knows what with this girl that he barely knows.

"It's Katniss," he says, a little sharply. "And yes, I am. God, Rory, don't you have any friends to play with?"

Yeah, yeah. I wrinkle my nose. "I want to hang out with you. You know, like we _used _to. Now all you want to do is go hunt with your girlfriend." That is the most non-romantic thing I could think of, yet Gale did it every single Sunday, and sometimes on Saturday's too. Katiss was stealing him.

"She's not my girlfriend." His voice is now anything but friendly. "And for your information, I'm hunting to feed _your _gigantic appetite. Maybe if you didn't eat so much, me and "Katiss" wouldn't have to go out as much."

I glare and grab a bruised apple from the table, biting into it pointedly. "Go out? So you admit she's your girlfriend!" It was obvious, why wouldn't he just admit it? Gale was the attractive one in the family. Of course he had a girlfriend.

He rolls his eyes, snatching up his string of knots and stalking out the door. "See you at dinner. You know, the time I _feed you._" The door slams. From the window, I can see him stomping off into the streets. Katiss is waiting for him, her face expressionless. They meet at the middle, then walk off toward the woods together. Their hands bump together more than once on the way.

I sigh, then sit down in the chair Gale had been occupying less than a few minutes ago. Sure, I liked Gale okay. I would even consider him as pretty cool, on some days. But that was during the BK (Before Katiss, or Katniss, or whatever) Era. He was my friend.

Yes, I had other friends. I wasn't a loser. But I wasn't in the mood to hang out with them really. I wanted my brother back. My head slumps down into my hands, and before I know it, I'm asleep, drifting into a peaceful darkness where Katniss Everdeen doesn't exist.

BANG.

Something clatters against the floor, the sound ringing in my ears, and I wake up with a start. My head snaps up to see a tin bucket clattering to the floor. I must have knocked it down in my sleep.

Shaking out one of my arms, which has gone numb from the weight of my head, I pick it up. It is the bucket that holds all of Gale's hunting supplies for when he goes out with Katniss. I wonder what would happen if it fell on Katniss' head…But that can never happen if I want to live.

Wait! Who says it can't? Or, at least, cause a little damage.

An evil smile creeps onto my face, and I clutch the bucket hard. Really, it wouldn't be doing much harm. Just fill the bucket with water, then put it onto the Everdeen's front door. It's just water. And no one would ever know who did it.

Despite myself, I laugh. Oh, this'll be good.

*Everthing is ready.

The little bucket, filled to the brim with water, is perched precariously on the top of the door. The door creaks a little under the weight.

The bucket is almost unnoticeable, blending in with the dank background of the Everdeen's house. Katniss will never know what hit her, metaphorically speaking.

From my spot behind the bushes, I can see a little bit of the street in front of the house. I'll know when Katniss is coming, which ought to be soon. They're usually back by three.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, a pair of feet steps lightly onto the Everdeen's front porch, ragged shoes just visible from my hiding spot. I grin in anticipation. Oh, this'll be good. I crept up and peer over the tops of the bushes, ready to watch Katniss Everdeen get exactly what she deserves.

Except it's not Katniss.

Primrose Everdeen yanks open the door, as unsuspecting as a deer before it is caught in a snare.

Oh, crap.

Before I can call out a warning, before my mouth even opens, the bucket comes crashing down, sending a wave of water onto Prim's head. It clatters to the floor at her feet.

For a moment, she just stands there. She doesn't look angry at all. Just surprised. Her mouth forms a perfect "O," and her eyes stare blankly at the bucket. A mangy looking cat slinks out of the house and wraps itself around her legs, hissing when he realizes that she's soaking wet. I try to crouch back behind the bushes, and a twig snaps under my feet.

In a flash, Prim is off the porch, wringing out the hem of her skirt and running toward the bushes. I crouch down and squeeze my eyes shut. Maybe she won't see me. Maybe she'll just go away. Maybe -

"Rory?" Prim looks over the bushes, her eyes narrowing. Water drips down from her hair and onto my face. I stare up sheepishly. She looks sort of pretty, even when wet. Like a blue-eyed kitten who fell in a bathtub, or something sappy like that.

"Er, hey Prim," I say, standing up before she can drip any more water on me.

She says nothing in reply, but raises a thin eyebrow. A half smile is quirked up on her lip.

I was in trouble. I mean, what could I say? Prim, I wasn't planning for _you_ to come through that door. It was actually meant for Katniss, since, you know, she stole my brother away from me? No.

My brain whirls at a mile a minute, and finally, without even thinking it over, I blurt, "Happy International Prank Day!" Wait, what?

Her face goes from confusion in a blink of an eye. Her eyebrows crease. "International Prank Day?" she says slowly, as if testing the words on her tongue.

She believes me? Maybe I can get away with this after all! "Oh, yeah," I say, my face feeling a little too flushed, my voice too animated. "You've never heard of it?"

She still looks confused, but I carry on.

"Every year, people get to prank each other nonstop all day. It's really fun." I raise my eyes from my shoes. "You can help me, if you want."

She smiles, seeming to show every pearly white tooth in her mouth. "Sure!" she says. "I just need to change."

And she's off and running toward her house before she can see me blush.

Because, really, I'm spending the day with _Prim. _She was the one that the boys all running after her, and here I was, with her all to myself. Cute, kind, generous…I was lucky, and going to make the most of it.

* "Stop wiggling!"

"I'm not trying to, you're taking up all the space!"

"Shh! We can't get caught! And stop giggling."

Prim stifles another laugh, wobbling a bit on the tree branch. I put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, giving her a look that I hoped said "Shut up." But then again, you could never really make girls be quiet. I didn't get it. They were always giggling about something or the other, usually in whispers behind their hands. The worst was when they did it when you walked by them. They were impossible.

Prim's eyes widen, and she points in front of her, through the branches in the tree on which we are crouching, hidden from the rest of the world. I am a bit afraid. I have never gone in the forest before, despite what I told Prim. What if we are caught?

But it is too late. Katniss Everdeen can be seen about five feet away. With a heavy sigh, she wipes sweat off her brow and sets her quiver of arrows down on a tree stump, landing heavily next to them. Farther back, I can see Gale wandering around in some bushes, fiddling with ropes. He calls out to her, and she smiles, but waves a hand. "I'll be there in a second, Gale."

We hold are breath until she walks back toward him. He places a hand around her shoulder, pointing to something. It lingers on her back only a second too long. . .

I look over at Prim, who is watching intently. "Do you ever wonder if they're really only _just_ hunting in here?" I whisper, grinning. Maybe she'll think I'm funny.

She whips her head around and looks at me with disbelief, mouth hanging open. "Rory!" she squeals. Katniss looks over in our direction, but only for a moment. I give her a look.

"Sorry," she says, much quieter. Her eyes are still as round as marbles. "I just can't believe you actually said that."

I try to shrug without falling off the branch. "Just wondering." Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Prim always seems so innocent, but I'd have never thought she'd get all screamy like that. I didn't want to make a bad impression on her.

Gale and Katniss are starting to wander away from us now, and I know it's time to put our plan into action. I shoot Prim a meaningful look, and she nods.

Softly, she rustles the branches a bit.

Katniss looks over at us once more, her eyes lingering on our spot. I know that we are too well covered for her to see us, but it's still pretty creepy the way her eyes look as if she's staring right at me. I lower myself flat against the tree branch. The silver bucket is shining in my hands, though this time it isn't filled with water.

Prim shakes the branches again, this time making soft cooing noises. Now both Katniss and Gale are looking. Slowly, like animals of prey, they stalk forward. Katniss' arrows are only a few feet away from us, and she slowly walks under the tree, reaching for them…

SPLAT.

A cascade of brownish-green mud falls from the bucket, hitting Katniss right on her head and the back of her neck. I watch with more than a little satisfaction as it dribbles down her back and into her shirt. She looks up, grey eyes bewildered, but shrewd. Unlike Prim, she's angry. Mud drips into her face.

And suddenly Prim is laughing so loud that it hurts my ears, leaning against the tree branch behind her for support. Below us, Katniss blinks, her eyes narrowing even more. Gale saunters up behind her, his face full of sheer disbelief. Sludge drips across Katniss' taut mouth.

Prim's laughter is infectious, and in the next second, I'm breathless with laughter. The little tin bucket lands on the forest floor.

"Prim!" Katniss roars, standing up and wiping mud off her face.

"Rory?" Gale looks almost entirely confused. He picks up his bucket and stares at it blankly. They both step closer to the tree.

I manage to gasp, "Go!" to Prim before jumping out of the tree and taking off full-speed for the fence. A thud behind me notifies me that Prim is following closely. She's still laughing. I can't help but grin when I hear it.

I steal a glance behind my shoulder to see Katniss and Gale still standing motionless, though they seem to be recovering. Katniss wipes mud out of her eyes and takes off after us.

I scale the fence in one fluid movement, hoping that Prim will be able to do the same. She struggles for a second to climb, her long skirt getting stuck in the tangle of wire, but then manages to land on the other side. Katniss and Gale have not made it to the fence yet.

"Follow me!" I yell to Prim, then turn sharply away from the town, toward the less populated part of town. If I can just make it…

Prim catches up to me, running along side. "Where are we going?" she pants, breathless. Her cheeks are the color of roses.

"The Hob," I answer, picking up speed. "I know where we can hide."

Prim is silent for a moment, then looks at me with worry. "Won't they expect us to go there?" she asks. After all, they had seen us turn this direction. The only place of interest this way that I know of is the Hob.

But I'm not worried. "Yes, but we'll be well-hidden." Another thought springs into my mind. "_And we can play another joke. Better then the last one."_

_Prim's face splits into a smile. "Well, if that's the case…" She starts running as fast as she can, legs pumping her ahead of me. "Race ya there!"_

_How have I never really noticed Primrose Everdeen? It is a mystery._


	2. I Guess This Means I'm Ugly

**Here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, they meant a lot to me.**

*We were able to get to the Hob without being tailed, but I knew either Gale or Katniss, maybe both, would be here in a matter of minutes.

Thankfully, people don't take notice of me. They all know I'm Gale Hawthorne's little brother, and they all seem to like Gale a lot. I quickly lead Prim to the ragged booth in the back of The Hob.

Slumped against the wall, passed out cold, is crazy old Greasy Sae. She sort of creeps me out, seeing as she puts dog limbs on a stick, roasts them over a fire, and then tries to sell them. On normal circumstances, I wouldn't have gotten within a mile of her, let alone talked to her, but this is different.

"Greasy Sae?" Prim whispers. I nudge her with my foot slightly. "Greasy Sae…."

She snorts and rolls over, opening one eye. "Hu-what?"

Prim looks a little flustered to see the old woman open her eyes. I suppress a snort of laughter at her innocence.

She blinks twice, rubbing her drooping eyes and standing up. "Oh, well if it isn't little Rory Hawthorne." She squints at Prim, and her eyes disappear under layers of loose skin. "And a new girlfriend!"

I roll my eyes while she isn't looking. Greasy Sae often confuses me with Gale - the girlfriend department is no exception. Gale and I are polar opposites when it comes to getting girls, though.

I'm pretty odd-looking, and I know it. I'm too lanky, almost taller than Gale, with no muscle whatsoever. It doesn't help that Mother decided to shave off nearly all of my hair in the summer. "This is Prim. My _friend_." I emphasis the word with a wild hand gesture. Prim blushes.

Gready Sae waves a hand, a smug look on her face. "Of course, of course," she says. "Now what do you want with this old bag of bones?"

I grin. "I need you to hide us from Katniss and Gale. It's really, really important."

She laughs, then ushers us under her booth, which is covered by a ragged tablecloth. "Stay there as long as you want, sweets."

I pull up the curtain and try my best to stay hidden. "I need something else, too."

Greasy Sae smiles wider, showing just how much she resembles a demented jack-o'-lantern. "Dating advice?"

I resist the impulse to roll my eyes again. "Uh, no." I rummage in my pockets. Earlier in the day, Prim and I had filled it with what we thought would be necessary for our pranking escapades. "If Gale or Katniss comes, or both, I need you to give them some stew."

"Stew?"

I nod enthusiastically. "Yeah. But," I feel a smile spreading on my face, "You need to make it…special." I pull out the contents of my jacket pocket.

Greasy Sae cackles maniacally, shaking her head. "Oh, well, I suppose I could arrange that."

*Under the table, Prim is giggling, eyes shining and cheeks flushed a deep red.

I look at her with a confused expression. "What are you going on about now?" Why can't girls be more like boys? I have a feeling there would be a lot less squabbling and confusion.

She giggles again, blushing even harder. Her eyes drop to the table cloth, which forms a wall on our left side. She touches the cloth with nimble fingers. Artist hands, Mother would call them. "It's just…" she breathes. I lean forward expectantly, but am met with silence.

"What?" I ask.

She bites her lip. "Too embarrassing."

See what I'm talking about? "Oh, geez, Prim," I say, leaning on the table leg. "It can't be that bad."

She takes a deep breath, shaking her head and smiling a little it. "It's just…I never imagined that my first time alone with a boy would be quite like this."

Oh, crap. That _is _embarrassing…for me. Was this really the same Prim who had gasped when I had suggested Gale and Katniss were doing the yankee doodle in the woods together?

"Really?" I say. Now I'm the one blushing. "That's what you were thinking?" Does that mean I'm attractive, or something? Wait, no, probably not. She would have imagined an attractive guy…that's why it was different.

She nods, avoiding my gaze.

"Well, if it's any consolation, we're technically not alone. In fact, Greasy Sae has probably been listening to this whole conversation."

"Yep," comes a crackling voice from above us.

I grin. "Come on, Prim. I'm sure your first boyfriend will be a great guy. Not some guy who enjoys playing pranks on other people's sisters." I reach out a hand and put it on her own. It is soft and warm, the pulse under it beating quickly.

Her face splits into a smile, blush fading. "You really think so?" she whispers.

I nod. "I know so." And I also know that's true. She'd never go out with a brickhead like me…

Why am I even considering this? I mean, sure, she's _Prim. _And Prim = hot, in math terms. But I've only really known her for a few hours. And besides, we're, like, eleven. Now I know what Gale means when he says I have no sense of what love really is. But I doubt he does either.

Suddenly, Greasy Sae's face is under the table with us, excitement in her eyes. Prim stifles a little scream. "Gale's coming!" the old woman whispers excitedly before pulling the tablecloth back down.

Prim squeaks a little, whether in excitement or terror, I can't tell. A goofy smile lights my face when I think of what's to come next.

"Ready?" I whisper.

She nods solemnly. "The most ultimate prank of all time."

We shake hands on a job well done.

I can hear footsteps coming near us, each hammering thuds on the dirt floor. I recognize Gale's boots as he comes to a stop at the table.

"Hi, Greasy Sae," he says, his voice a little less than pleasant.

Greasy Sae gives her trademark cackle. "Gale Hawthorne. Where's that girl of yours?"

Like me, Gale is usually dismissive of Greasy Sae's old people antics when it comes to romance. "We split up. She's looking around town for…" he stops short, taking a deep breath. "Well, we're looking for Prim and Rory. We need to…have a talk with them. Any chance you've seen them?"

Greasy Sae says nothing, so I suppose she has shaken her head. "No, sweet, I' m sorry." A chair scrapes across the floor, and she sits down heavily. "Come sit down. You look tired."

Gale sighs, but obliges, pulling up a chair of his own. "It's been a long day," he says, kicking his feet back. "Very long."

Greasy Sae gives a sympathetic click of the tongue, then takes a bowl of stew from the table concealing us. "Have some stew. On the house, for such a hard-working young boy."

Gale makes a noise of disbelief. Even though the people of District Twelve relied heavily on each other, we rarely got anything for free. "Are you serious?"

Greasy Sae gives a rusty chuckle. "Just this one time."

Gale grabs a spoon of the table and digs in emphatically, all the slurping noises and clattering of dishware involved. Prim gives me a blazing grin. I return it.

Gale is almost to the bottom of the bowl before he pauses eating. I imagine him looking down with an exaggeratedly confused expression. "What…is _this_?" He abandons his spoon.

I can't help it, I want to see it so bad. So I peak out from under the table, just a little.

Gale is holding it up with an extremely confused expression. It wiggles in his hand, twisting away from the light. It's fleshy pink skin is smeared with stew.

"Is that a _worm_?" Gale drops it back into the bowl, pushing his chair back and standing up quickly. He looks ready to throw up, his face oddly clenched. I am about to stand up and scream something along the lines of "Gotcha!" when I realize that he is shaking…with anger. Greasy Sae gives an ominous laugh.

"Crap," I mutter under my breath. "Prim!"

She gets up quickly, hitting her head on the table, and it rattles the bowls, sending one clattering to the floor. We both scramble out from under the table, slipping in the spilled stew. I get it all over my pants.

"RORY!" Gale roars, tearing after me. "Get back here!"

I know that I'll never be able to outrun him, so I give up when we hit the street, coming to a stop. Prim, still running, looks back confusedly over her shoulder. "Go!" I yell to her. "I'll meet you later."

Gale is on me less than a second later, wrapping his arms around my waist to make sure I didn't get away.

"I'm going to _kill_ you!" he yells, spitting in my ear. "How many worms were in there?"

I decide to play it cool. What did I have to lose? "Oh…ten," I say casually. "Maybe twelve."

"_Twelve!_" he shrieks. "I just ate twelve worms!"

I shrug. "Maybe." It's not like worms were that bad. Us Seam kids had eaten a lot of crap in our lives.

Gale seems at loss for words, but he releases me. "I'll get you back," he says, eyes threatening. "Don't worry, Rory. This won't go unpaid." He stalks away, toward the woods.

I taught him a lesson. I expected to be paid back in full. I grin at the thought of what he'd try to do.

I catch up to Prim a few minutes later. She tells me that Katniss probably already went home to take a bath. I tell her that Gale probably won't be going home anytime soon. Heck knows that storming around in the woods when he's angry is his thing.

"Do you want me to…walk you home?" That seemed like the right thing to do. At least, it's what Gale would've done.

But she nods, smiling. "I'd like that."

We walk to her house in comfortable silence, and I know we are both reliving Katniss' and Gale's expressions when they'd realized they'd been pranked. I replay their faces over and over in my head, an endless loop of hilarity.

But another thought pops into my head. "Prim?" I ask hesitantly.

She looks over, a happy smile still lighting her face. "Yes?"

I take a deep breath. For a moment, I realize what she meant when she said that her thoughts were too embarrassing. "When you said you're first time alone with a guy wasn't at all what you imagined…" I look away, toward her approaching house. "Was that because I'm ugly or something like that?"

Prim looks at me with a shocked expression for a moment. Then she doubles over with the loudest laughter I've ever heard, great booming ones that I had never thought could come from an eleven year old girl. "Rory Hawthorne, you are such an idiot!" she gasps, clutching her sides. Her eyes shine with tears of laughter.

"What?" I ask. "What did I do!"

She manages to stop laughing, wiping her windswept hair out of her face. "I just meant that I never thought I'd be in The Hob playing a practical joke on our older siblings." She smiles. "But that was fun. You're fun, Rory…and pretty cute," she says the last part quietly, but it still warms my insides.

In my mind, I'm secretly happy that she thinks I'm okay-looking. But I didn't want to sound like a jerk who only cares about looks (A.K.A Gale when he has a girlfriend). "Yeah, National Prank Month was pretty fun," I say.

Prim raises an eyebrow. "You mean International Prank Day?"

Oh, crap. And just when I thought I had a shot with her. "Um, about that…"

She laughs lightly. "It's okay, Rory. I knew you were making it up about two seconds after you said it." Her eyes sparkle. "I thought it would be fun to make you sweat, though."

I sigh. Really? Why am I so stupid all the time? I shake my head. "Gee, Prim. Thanks." We stop in front of her house. Inside, I can see her mother and Katniss talking. "Well, I guess I'll see you at school…" But would I? After this, I think we're friends, but you never know.

Prim smiles. "Sit with me at lunch?"

I nod. I can feel a blush creeping onto my face. "Sure."

She nods happily, leaning closer to me, until we are inches apart. "Thanks for a good time, Rory." She gives me a kiss on my burning cheek. "It was fun for way more different reasons then I first thought."

And then she's skipping out to her front door, leaving me completely baffled.

I guess I really never am going to understand girls. They're the enigmas of life, meant to enjoy, not to try to figure out. It's nice to know that we're not as different as I had thought, though. At least, me and Primrose Everdeen aren't.

THE ENDETH.

**Now, click and tell me SOMETHING. Pretty please with unicorns on top?**


End file.
